Series 1 Episode 2

(Scene 1)

Nikki's day had started off as usual; the same boring routine which she had been put through these past two years. She knew that Rachel Hicks was getting too close to Jim Fenner and was intent on warning her to stay away from him but Rachel was having none of it.

Helen's day was going from bad to worse; drugs was the theme of the day and she was intent on stopping non-users getting it for those select few that use and deal drugs. She knew that getting the prisoners on side was the main problem and she was getting nowhere with Nikki fast. The officers were not happy with Helen's ideas about cracking down on drugs and about the testing procedures. Helen needed to see Nikki and try, once again, to get her onside but with Carol Byatt being shipped out it wouldn't surprise her if Nikki blamed her

"Nikki" Helen had just caught Nikki just as she had finished her evening shower. "I wanted to talk to you about Carol Byatt" Nikki was obviously not in the mood for excuses but she was going to get them anyway

"Did you Miss?" Nikki did, of course, blame Helen for getting Carol shipped out. Helen was Wing Governor.

"I didn't have her shipped out, it went over my head" It was the first time Nikki had looked at her wing governor since she had cornered her. Nikki knew Helen had too many good ideas which would make her very unpopular with the officers and those above her "And if you think it was to stop her suing us for negligence then I'm absolutely sure that you're right" Nikki was sure Helen was trying to get her onside but it wasn't going to work; not now at that moment in time. Nikki scoffs at Helen's remarks and shakes her head

"Oh great that's even more amusing to me you can stick your job Miss" Nikki starts to walk away from Helen. The young Scot was beginning to get to her but she was not going to give in to itch that was beginning to become impossible to scratch

"So you still don't think I can do any good then" Helen knew that Nikki had potential and she was going to flush it out of her if it was the last thing she did. Nikki stops, turns and walks back to Helen taking a glance at the poster that Helen had produced about drugs

"No I think you do a really great poster, very eye catching totally pointless but…" Helen interrupts Nikki. She knew Nikki was mocking her but she had to get through to the stubborn inmate that she was going to make a difference even if it destroyed her

"What you think it's pointless to protect your civil liberties do you?" Nikki chuckles; whatever Helen was taking she wanted some of it

"My what?"

"Cause that it what I'm trying to do here Nikki, for all of you non drug users" Nikki decided to plant a seed of doubt in the young wing governor as way of upping the ante "Because I'm sick of what you have to put up with and your visitors all because we don't target the real users and get them on some treatment"

"Are you trying to wind me up" Helen was stunned into silence for a brief moment. Was Nikki telling her that she was a user? If she was it could change everything and they both knew it

"You're not telling me that you take drugs are you?" There was an air of disappointment in Helen's voice that pulled on Nikki's conscience

"No" Relief sweeps across Helen's features. Something about Nikki made her feel like she had to protect her, to feel for her. "I'm not telling you anything" With that final statement Nikki walks away leaving a bewildered Helen behind her. Whatever feelings Nikki was stirring within her, they were scaring her beyond belief to the point of hauling Nikki off to rehab herself if she was using.

Nikki's day was about to go from worse to abysmal when Trish didn't pick up the phone. Nikki wasn't the suspicious kind but she couldn't help but wonder if Trish had met someone else.

(Scene 2)

The next day Nikki's day was about to become a disaster. Shell had sent a letter to the DST (dedicated search team) saying that Nikki was a user and had been smuggling drugs into G Wing. Helen's plan wasn't panning out as planned and she was about to get it in the neck off Nikki.

"Nice work"

"I'm gonna make a complaint they are not allowed to do this" Helen was just as angry as Nikki was; this was an invasion of privacy; she knew Nikki was going to absolutely fly off the handle with her if she wasn't careful

"They're allowed to make me squat over a mirror" Nikki continued to tidy her cell; it was no wonder that Helen was becoming unpopular with not only the screws but the other prisoners as well

"Nikki they had good reason to suspect that you were dealing in drugs"

"Why! Because you told them!" Helen was outraged by the accusation she would never put anyone through that ordeal without evidence especially not Nikki.

"No I didn't actually" Nikki was in no mood to listen to Helen; it didn't matter if Helen had told the DST or not it made no difference to being humiliated in front of the entire wing

"You liar"

"Well you can think what you like but the fact is they may not have found anything on you but they will on others!" Helen was trying to justify the reason for Nikki's humiliation and it made Nikki even angrier with her and with everyone else. "And the women who don't do drugs will thank us for that!"

"Well fantastic I'm really glad you're convinced you're doing the right thing" Nikki threw a book at the wall making Helen scared that she may get violent "Now why don't you piss off outta my space!" Helen knew Nikki had to blame someone but blaming her wasn't the answer. Helen was filled with disappointment over Nikki and her anger towards her but there was nothing she could do except let the inmate calm down.

"You really let yourself down Nikki" Helen slams the door behind her as she leaves the angry inmate alone. Nikki was kicking herself for blowing off at Helen; for some reason she felt as if she owed Helen an apology but knew that she wasn't going to give the wing governor the satisfaction of seeing her vulnerable.

Helen pauses outside the cell door knowing that the rift between herself and Nikki had just expanded even further with little or no hope of closing it. Above her Shell was smirking at the trouble she had caused Nikki and for the fact she had pushed the wing governor and Nikki further apart.